Sony secretly improved PS5 Slim! Teardown revealed not only better cooling

Sony has once again delved into the internals of the PS5 Slim. This time, the main benefits of the modifications are not higher performance or new gaming options, but cooling and easier servicing. The changes were revealed by technician Modyfikator89 during a teardown of the digital console in the Marvel’s Wolverine edition. The smaller PlayStation borrowed part of the solution from the more expensive PS5 Pro.

Liquid metal is designed to stay where it dissipates heat

The most interesting modification concerns the liquid metal that transfers heat between the console’s chip and the heatsink. In the disassembled PS5 Slim, it is designed to better stay on the APU, thereby more effectively fulfilling its role during demanding gaming. Sony has already modified the PS5 Pro’s cooling in a similar way. The finding so far applies to the mentioned Wolverine edition; the same change has not been confirmed for other variants.

The purpose is to mitigate a problem that may only manifest over time. If the liquid metal shifts out of place, cooling and consequently performance can suffer. Furthermore, contact with surrounding components poses a risk of short circuit. Notebookcheck describes these cases as rare, so the modification should be understood more as an assurance of long-term reliability than a reason to worry about every older console.

Replacing the small battery will be less laborious

The familiar EDM-051 motherboard remains inside, but its modified layout makes some components more accessible. A specific example is the CR2032 battery, which, among other things, maintains the console’s clock. Most gamers, according to the teardown description, will never need to change it, but if a replacement is necessary, the path to it should be simpler.

Sony quietly refreshed the PS5 Slim again and this one is much more interesting than it looks. 👀
We opened the new Wolverine Limited Edition and inside found the refreshed EDM-051 motherboard.
This isn’t just another cosmetic revision.
Compared with earlier Slim boards, Sony has… pic.twitter.com/eMWFu9aKw1

— modyfikatorcasper (@Modyfikator89) September 30, 2026

Such changes make sense in an ongoing revision: you might not notice them during gameplay, but they can save work during later servicing. They are not a reason to replace a functioning PS5 Slim, but they represent a useful refinement of its design.

Cheaper HDMI chip, changes unmentioned in manual

Sony also implemented a cheaper HDMI retimer, a chip that helps reduce signal interference. Modyfikator89 nevertheless describes it as better optimized. The teardown thus shows a combination of cost savings and minor design improvements, not a significant performance leap. According to the technician, Sony does not even mention the easier repairability in the console’s manual.

Do you consider how easily a console can be repaired when making a purchase?

Sources: notebookcheck.net